Template-clamps for column mold forms



June 23, 1959 A. OLSON TEMPLATE-CLAMPS FOR COLUMN MOLD FORMS Filed June 6, 1958 INVENTOR. J5 as? 0130/2 BY I I 3 1r.

United States Patent TEMPLATE-CLAMPS FOR COLUMN MOLD FORMS August Olson, Wauconda, Ill.

Applic'ationJune. 6, 1958, Serial No. 740,481.

3 Claims. (Cl; 144'--291) The invention. relates to. improvements in templates and clamps for squaring the walls or panels of a concrete material column form. or mold and for tightly securing said walls: intheir required positions against spreading during the pouring and setting of the concrete.

Heretofore, clamping devices of this general character were. com-prised of pairs of bars or straps pivotally joined to form component halves which were secured together and about a column form by means of clamps, wedges, pins, bolts and the like. However, such devices fail to aflford positive means for. squaring the form and they are also'objectionable because of the multiplicity of separate locking devices required for. securing them in place.

It is. an: object of'the present invention to provide complemental pairs of permanently squared clamp frames of a character adapted for use as a template during the initial setting up. of. a form for concrete columns.

Anotherv object is to provide. novel clamp frames of the character described, which are easy to assemble around set up column form walls or panels and be interlocked quickly and easily, without the use of. accessory locking elements, to insure. squaring. of the walls and to provide a rigid clamp for retaining said panels assembled and. in position- Still other objects are to provide novel column form clamps of a character that embody few parts; are inexpensive to manufacture; are easy to assemble and quickly dissassembled; are light in weight;.rnay be nested,.stacked or packed compactly thus requiring little storage space and which,, because of their simple construction, have firm flat surface contact with the column form walls to prevent wall distortion.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists. ofv certain novel features of construction, arrangement and a combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes inv the form, proportion, size and minor details of the structure may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the-advantages of the invention.

For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of the invention, there is illustrated in the accompanying drawings a preferred embodiment thereof, from an inspection of which, when'considered in connection with the following description,. and. many of. its advantages should be readily understood and. appreciated.v

Referring to the drawings in which the same: characters of reference are employed to indicate corresponding or similar parts throughout the several figures of the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a representative column mold form showing the novel clamps in place.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a clamp frame.

Fig. 3 is an exploded view of the abutted ends of the frame bars.

2,891,590 Patented June 23,. 1.959

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken on line 4---4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 isan enlarged fragmentary detail sectional view taken substantially on line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary detail sectional view taken substantially on line 6-6- of Fig. 4.

The invention disclosed in the accompanying drawings comprises a plurality of clamp frames which are adapted to be arranged, in pairs, around the forms in which concrete material. is poured for forming: a column, and in such manner as to hold the. panels or side walls of the form together and squared; Each of the" clampframes consists of a pair of angle bars arranged end to end and at right angles to one another and welded or otherwise secured at their abutted ends so as to insure utmost rigidity in the assembly. The resulting permanently squared frame has its upstanding flanges-on its inside face and external flanges on its lower edge. The-free end portions of the upstanding flangesare notched at mutually spaced intervals along their length to provide spaced teeth, and preferably the external flanges are suitably pierced at intervals to receive anchor nails, or the like, when the clamp frames are used as a squaring template-in a manner to be described presently.

In use, the side panels or walls are assembled in columnar form and one or more pairs of the novel. clamp frames are positioned therearound and interconnected to form' surrounding retaining bands. This is accomplished byinverting one clamp frame in each pair of. clamp frames so that its notched flanges is disposed downwardly. When the two frames constituting a pair of frames are so positioned, the free ends of the bars of one frame intersect and overlap the free ends of the bars. of the other frame and when urged toward one another vertically, a notch in one baris engaged over the notched flange of the other intersecting bar so as to securevthe two frames together to properly retain the mold Walls squared and in place. Obviously, any number of pairs of clamp frames may be arrangedover the length of the column form.

The clamp frames are also useful in providing a template during the initial setting up of the form walls. In such instance, one of a pair of said frames is seated upon thecolumn base or footing and interlocked with the other frame of the pair to provide the required size for receiving the base ends of the form walls. Displacement of these clamp frames when used as a template, is avoided by inserting nailsor the like through the holes inthe external flanges of the bottom frame and driving them into the columnfooting or other supporting structure.

Referring specifically to the accompanying drawings and particularly to Fig. 1, the substantially square column form illustrated comprises a plurality of upstanding side walls 10 of any practical length. The initial positioning and squaring of the walls and their subsequent retention and securement against displacement or bulging throughout their length is accomplished by the use-of. the clamp frames 11 of the present invention.

These. frames 11-, best shown in Fig. 2, each consists of a pair of. like angle bars 12 arranged longitudinally at right angles to each other with their complemental ends in abutment. Each bar has an upstanding" flange 13 and a base flange 14'. In order to facilitate proper abutment at the abutted ends, the extremity of the upstanding flange 13 of one bar 12 is cut away, as at; 15 (Fig. 3) for a distance commensurate with the width of the base flange 13 of the companion bar 12 so that a square corner is provided at the juncture of the upstanding flanges and said corner is reinforced by the abutment of the projecting edge 16 (Fig. 3) of the base flange 14 of said cut away bar with the end of the related bar flange 14. The cut edges 15 and 16 then are welded, as at 17, to the abutted end edges of the other bar to insure utmost rigidity and permanency in the joining of the two bars in the right angle clamp frame.

Each of the upstanding flanges 13 of each bar of the clamp frame is formed, at least adjacent to its free end, with a plurality of mutually spaced notches 18 opening onto the free edge thereof and terminating a substantial distance from the base of flange 13 to define teeth 19. Preferably, the side edges 21 of each notch are parallel for a greater part of their length and are outwardly flared adjacent to the open end of the notch, as at 22, for providing a flared mouth for a purpose to be explained presently.

To use the clamp frames 11 as a template, one such frame is seated on the column footing in the manner shown in Figure 1, and nails 23 or the like are placed in some or all of a plurality of holes 24 provided in the base flange 14 to anchor it in place. A second like clamp frame 11 then is placed in an inverted position above the anchored frame and in opposed relation thereto, to form a square or rectangle having the dimensions of the column form to be set up. When the two frames are so related, the free notched ends of the bars of one frame intersect the free notched ends of the related bars of the other frame and when the inverted upper frame is urged downwardly toward the anchored frame, the notches in each interengage and interlock with the base area of the notched flanges of the other frame thus securely anchoring the two frames 11 together. The flared mouths of the recesses facilitates the interengagement of the bars. The column form walls then are set up in place within the inside perimeter of the template form and, at predetermined intervals along the length of said column form, additional pairs of clamp frames 11 are interlocked thereabout, as best shown in Fig. 1.

As shown, the two clamp frames 11, forming the column clamp, are interlocked about the column form walls 10 in the same manner as the clamp or template frames are locked together at the base of said walls. That is, one clamp frame 11 is fitted against two side walls of the column form at the desired elevation and may be supported in place temporarily by means of nails 25 driven into said side walls. The companion clamp frame 11 is inverted and placed against the other two side walls with the free ends of its bars 12 intersecting and overlying the free ends of the related bars of the first mentioned clamp frame. Interengagement of the notches and flanges secures the clamp in place and insures permanent squaring of the column form without distortion.

As noted hereinabove, the outwardly flared edges 22 of the notches 18 facilitates the engagement of the teeth 19 over the base area of flanges 13 of the related clamp frames and, when two clamp frames are interlocked, the straight side edges 21 of said notches are in flat abutment with the engaged flanges so as to prevent inadvertent camming disengagement of the interlocked frames. Disassembly may be accomplished easily and quickly by striking a blow against the notched end portion of either engaged bar in a direction opposed to the direction of engagement.

The specific manner of forming the welded ends of the two bars constituting one clamp frame 11 insures utmost rigidity and permanent right angle relationship of said bars and further, permits the frames to be nested compactly for storage. Furthermore, the corners of the base flanges 14 are cut away preferably, as at 26, to minimize possible injury resulting from physical contact therewith.

It is believed that the invention, its mode of construction and assembly, and many of its advantages should be readily understood from the foregoing without further description, and it should be manifest also that while a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described for illustrative purposes, the structural details are nevertheless capable of wide variation within the purview of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed and desired to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A form clamp for concrete column molds having a pair of like clamp frames, each clamp frame comprising a first angle bar having one end of one of its flanges offset inwardly from the complemental end of its other flange, a second angle bar arranged at right angles to the first angle bar, said second angle bar having the end of one of its flanges in end abutment with the offset end edge of said one flange of the first angle bar and the end of its other flange in abutment with an edge of the said other flange of said first angle bar, a weld integrally connecting said "bars at their abutted edges, and longitudinally spaced notches on at least the free end portion of one flange of each bar, said notches opening onto the free edge of said flanges and terminating a substantial distance from the base thereof to define a series of mutually spaced teeth thereon.

2. A clamp for a mold form used in concrete construction work, said clamp consisting of a pair of rightangle frames, each of said frames comprising a pair of angle bars integrally connected at abutted ends, said bars each having longitudinally spaced notches at least on the free end portion of one flange thereof, said notches extending inwardly from the free edge of said flange and terminating substantially midway the flange width, so as to leave an unnotched base area, said pairs of frames being arranged in opposed relation relative to each other against outer faces of the mold in a manner to surround the same and with the notched end portions of the bars of one frame intersecting the related notched end portions of the bars of the other frame, said intersecting bar portions being interlocked by interfitting of the notches one with the other and with the related unnotched base area so as to lock the frames against relative movement and around the form.

3. A clamp for a mold form used in concrete construction work, said clamp consisting of a pair of rightangle frames, each of said frames comprising a pair of angle bars each having longitudinally spaced notches at least on the free end portion of one flange thereof, said notches extending inwardly from the free edge of said flange and terminating short of the other edge thereof substantially midway the flange width to define a base area having mutually spaced teeth on its edge, said pairs of frames being arranged in opposed relation around the form and with the end portions of the bars of one frame intersecting the related end portions of the bars of the other frame in such manner that a notch in each bar interfits a notch in the intersecting bar so as to locate adjacent teeth of each bar in embracing engagement with the base area of said one flange of the 'bar intersected thereby to retain the frames in place about the form and lock them against relative movement in directions parallel to their plane.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,388,904 Swenson Aug. 30, 1921 1,648,342 Goude et al. Nov. 8, 1927 ,015 Braun Nov. 15, 1927 FOREIGN PATENTS 2 0,54? Italy Sept. 28, 1928 

